mermaids and vagabonds
by in time you will be fine
Summary: Peter Pan has certainly picked an interesting trio this time, to run away with him: a dying girl, a girl both bookish and brash, both twins and fifteen; and a girl of just ten. Promises to be an awfully big adventure. full summary inside, first story. xo
1. chapter one

Peter Pan has certainly picked an interesting trio this time, to run away with him: a dying girl, a girl both bookish and brash, both twins and fifteen and full of life; and an innocent—a girl just ten. After centuries, Peter and his Lost Boys are starting to _age._ And why is that? Something more sinister than menstrual bleeding is at work here. Re-invented from what little I remember of the movie. If my brain doesn't lie, this promises to be an awfully big adventure.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, the story, or any of its characters. I also do not own any of the songs I quote, they are all by Allison Weiss, and while she is a goddess/personal heroine of mine, I am, regrettably, not her.**

**Song is From You To Me.**

_I do believe in fairies, I do, I do, _hummed Julia, clutching her blanket tighter around herself. It was just past midnight, and her sisters Vera and Sophie were both asleep. Her cough wouldn't go away, not that she expected it to, and she was sweating profusely. These were some of the symptoms of her illness.

_I do believe in fairies. I do, I do. I do believe in fairies. I do, I—_

There. There, at the window, a speck of light. A firefly, Julia supposed. A lone one. Not common, but not too strange. Julia didn't bother to move. She didn't want to open the window; she had a fever, her sisters were light sleepers, and besides, her parents would scold her in the morning if she'd gotten up. These were the excuses Julia made to herself. They lived on the thirteenth floor, her parents being quite wealthy bankers.

Thirteen, thought Julia gloomily. A mortician's dozen. They were so high off the ground that she didn't even bother locking her balcony window. After all, who could fly but fairies and superheroes? Neither of which Julia wanted to admit she still believed in. At fifteen, one was supposed to be mature. _Serious._ You were supposed to drop your childlike notions and strive to be more like your mum and dad, in Julia's household. Not that _she'd _ever get the chance to pursue banking, Julia thought bitterly. But miracles could happen. Not likely.

A sharp rap on Julia's balcony door knocked her out of her slightly depressing train of thought. Oh, who was she kidding? Her sisters slept like logs. It took nothing short of a foghorn blast directly into their ears to wake them up. The knock came again.

_Dear Santa, _Julia prayed. _Please, please, please, please, please, I promise to be good for the remainder of my life if you'll only help me out of this bind. Love, Julia. PS- The elves still treating you well?_

Knock knock-knock-knock-knock, knock knock! Went the door. Julia stopped breathing. All was silent in the room…

…Until Julia coughed again, a loud, wet, painful-sounding cough that would have made you wince, had you been three. Julia pulled her hand back from her mouth and quietly despaired at what she saw there, terror forgotten.

The balcony door swung open.

"…Wendy? You all right?" came the unknown voice. Sounds like a teenage boy's voice, Julia thought giddily, her hands clenching and unclenching around her blanket's edge. Oh Gallifrey, Julia thought. If I'm going to die here, let my last thoughts be filled with Kurt Vonnegut. _Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. Everything was—_

"Wendy?" came the voice again. Julia couldn't help but to let out a small, terrified squeak, and dove under the covers. "Oh, Wendy, there you are!" The voice said, sounding bemused. "Stop trembling and talk to me!" Julia trembled even harder.

She felt a hand on her blanket, searching for the edge. All of a sudden, without warning, her covers were yanked from her. She screamed, covering herself. Wouldn't you, if some strange male had seen you in your Power Rangers footies? She looked up just in time to catch her twin, Vera, stumbling from where she had apparently fallen from her bed with a confused look on her face, one that quickly turned to surprise and anger upon discovering some guy standing over her sister. She leaped over blankets to land near them, and took on a fighting stance.

"Who the hell are you?" She shouted, taking a swing at the stranger. Vera was apparently ignoring the fact that her midriff was entirely visible because the camisole part of her sleepwear had become stuck in the bottom of her bra. The stranger easily dodged, now becoming flustered and similarly confused.

"It's Peter!" he shouted. Vera and Julia exchanged looks. Vera's Look said, _This some loser you lead on? _While Julia's Look said, _I've never seen him before in my life!_ "Peter!" he yelled again. "Peter Pan! Don't you remember me, Wendy?"

"_Wendy?_" Vera and Julia uttered the same exact incredulous query. "Who's that?" Vera asked, a beat later.

"Wait a second. You're not Wendy? Wendy Moira Angela Darling…?" Peter asked, bewildered.

"Your girlfriend or whatever isn't here, bub," Vera hissed. "Now if you would so kindly please evacuate the premises before my fist becomes lodged in your jaw, that would be very pleasant for my sister here, you know, the one you apparently decided to molest?"

"And what kind of name is Peter Pan," Julia muttered. She knew _exactly _what kind of name 'Peter Pan' was, but it couldn't be the same person. No way in hell. Impossible.

"Hey! It's a name," Peter retorted lamely, "Whatever. I'm out of here." And he floated a few inches off of the ground, hesitating. Vera and Julia's eyes widened, if not for the same reasons. Vera was astounded some kid was floating, and Julia was shocked that it might actually be the same Peter Pan.

"Wait!" the word blurted from Julia's lips before she could stop herself. Peter spun around to face her, and she found herself blushing. "Take me...take me with you!" She managed. Vera was outraged; Peter intrigued, but slightly panicked.

"Well, there'll be adventure," he said suspiciously.

Julia nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said solemnly.

"You'll be confronted with danger constantly, not to mention _boys,_" he threw the word at her like she'd flinch and take it back.

"It's not like I have a lot of danger here," Julia said flippantly.

"A-_hem!_" Vera interrupted. "I beg to differ!" She'd been looking back and forth between the two, looking mildly disgusted, but mostly scared.

Julia ignored her. "What do you say?" She asked Peter.

"Well…" he said. "We'd have to take your brothers along, too. No fun in leaving them out," he said, grinning at Julia in a way that nearly made her sigh, until she got a hold on her wits. What am I _doing_? She thought. He's not a possible love interest. There isn't time for that. There will never be time for that. I'm running out of TIME!

Meanwhile, Vera was rapidly turning purple with rage. "_Brothers?_" she shrieked. "_I am a girl, I thank you kindly! As are my __**sisters!**_"

Peter Pan looked sheepish. "Sorry," he said. "This other girl I knew…"

"Wendy?" Vera interrupted.

"Yeah, her…" Peter said. "She had two brothers."

"That's all very well and good, but can we wake Sophie up now?" Julia said impatiently, referring to their youngest sister. "We'll have to scream," she addressed Vera.

"Scream?" Peter looked bewildered. "Won't that wake your parents?"

"No, no," Vera giggled. "It takes a foghorn in the morning to get Sophie and I up, more her than I, so our parents had this room soundproofed. Let's do this!"

She and Julia raced over to Sophie, each kneeling on different sides of her bed, leaning in. "On the count of three…" Vera said softly, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with Julia. "One," Peter plugged his ears with his fingers. "Two," he floated up to the ceiling farthest away from them. "THREE!" Julia and Vera screamed a bloodcurdling scream. Granted, Julia's voice was much weaker than Vera's. She coughed again afterwards.

Sophie jumped straight in the air, yelling nonsense. Julia and Vera quietly shushed her. "We're going to go somewhere," Julia smiled. "Somewhere nice."

Sophie, half asleep, murmured sleepily, "Do we have any clothes?" Julia and Vera slapped their palms to their foreheads, jumping up and tripping over one another in their haste to pack. Julia threw jeans, skirts, dresses, t-shirts, shoes and socks into her luggage, a worn, bumper-sticker-covered, much-loved thing. Vera stuffed much of the same into her knapsack, minus the dresses and skirts. Julia packed for Sophie, putting her clothes into her Adventure Time backpack. Peter watched all this, amused.

Vera slung all three of the packs onto her shoulder while Julia took sleepy Sophie's hand. Sophie was ten, but was constantly babied by her elder sisters. Peter opened their balcony door and called out, "Tink! All clear! We've got some new passengers!" Sophie was immediately woken up by the sight of a fairy zooming into her room. She smiled in delight and reached out to grab her, but Tink evaded capture and sneezed on all three of them. "Jeez, Tink, could you have transferred the dust a bit more elegantly than that?" Peter complained. "Now. All you have to do is thank happy thoughts and you'll fly!" he said, addressing the girls sternly.

"Fairies," Sophie beamed as she began to rise.

"Free tickets to a wrestling match," Vera crowed as she lifted into the air.

"I…I can't do it," Julia stuttered, suddenly afraid. Her arm was raised upwards, as she was still holding onto Sophie. "I can't think of anything."

Peter, Sophie and Vera frowned with concern. "Remember the day we went to the Doctor Who convention?" Vera called out. "And you yelled 'wanker' at Steven Moffat? And we touched the TARDIS?" "Remember when I drew you that picture of us for your fifteenth birthday?" said Sophie in a singsong voice. "And you were standing next to Marceline the Vampire Queen!"

Julia smiled. And slowly, ever-so-slowly, she began to rise. They cheered, and Peter instructed Vera to hold onto his foot. "Then," he said, "Sophie dear, you hold onto, er, your sister, erm…" he and Vera had never been properly introduced. He only knew Sophie's name because Vera and Julia had said it. Vera told him her name impatiently, and Peter continued with his directions. "Sophie, hold onto Vera's ankle, and Julia, hold onto Sophie's." Making sure everyone was properly secured, he called back, "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning!" Everyone repeated it, with various degrees of happiness on their faces, and they sped away.

"Let's go again!" Vera gasped upon landing. Sophie cried out "YES!" in agreement, and Julia shook her head, hands on knees, coughing.

Recovering from her burst of coughing and short breath, Julia sang quietly, "_I don't know why / I'm afraid to fly,_" shook her head again, and laughed. She looked up to see Vera and Sophie staring at her. "What?" she asked.

Vera shook her finger at her. "You know perfectly well "what", sister of mine. You haven't sung in _forever!_" Julia shrugged, not saying anything.

"Come on, girls! Time to meet the Lost Boys!" Peter Pan called from somewhere up ahead. They were on a beach, and the nearest land around was forest, so he must've gone in there, the girls figured.

Julia sang them a song, to keep them company while they marched up to Peter.

_I don't know why  
>I'm afraid to fly<br>Back to my home  
>Where I know I'll be alright<em>

_I never could quite say  
>How you made me feel<br>The way you always did  
>But kid, I'd never treat you right<em>

_And I don't know where you are  
>And although I've come so far<br>I can't say that life without you isn't hard  
>And I don't know where to go<br>Please don't say "I told you so"  
>When I tell you I still miss you in the dark<em>

_I guess I'll always miss you in the dark._

_I'll say goodbye  
>To the memories<br>And the lies I always told  
>I'm getting older every day<em>

_If I could, I'd take it back  
>But the past is just the past<br>With you and me,  
>It doesn't matter what I say<em>

_And I don't know where you are  
>And although I've come so far<br>I can't say that life without you isn't hard  
>And I don't know where to go<br>Please don't say "I told you so"  
>When I tell you I still miss you in the dark<em>

_I guess I'll always miss you..._

_In the dark  
>We were all we'd ever be<br>I was you and you were me  
>Crashing deeper to the bottom of the sea<br>Where we still lie  
>And if I fall out of the sky<br>I won't dare to wonder why  
>'Cause baby, I deserve to die.<em>


	2. chapter two

**A/N: Okay, I lied. Not all of the songs will be by Allison Weiss unless specified. For this chapter, yes, it is a AW song.**This chapter isn't as long because my bff has been rushing me to get it done. Love you, Emily! Mwah! You're welcome! More soon, because she'll prod my eyes out with a fire poker if I don't update often. xo

"I'm _tired,_" whined Sophie. "My feet hurt and my backpack's heavy and we've been walking for _ages_ and Julia won't quit making doe eyes at Peter!"

"I did no such thing!" snapped Julia, blushing a deep red. Vera snickered. "It looks like the cat is out of the bag now, sis," she teased. Julia's ears and neck turned a dark red and she said nothing, stomping her feet sullenly.

Peter was up ahead and hadn't heard the bickering. "Come on, guys!" he called out excitedly. He turned around and was greeted by an odd sight. Vera was carrying Julia, who was unconscious, and Sophie was carrying all three of the bags and grumbling about whose neck she would wring first. "What…what happened here?" Peter asked quizzically.

"She got worn down," Vera barked in reply, Sophie echoing her. Peter seemed ready to press them further, but decided against it. "Anyway," he said. "We're almost here. I'll go first!" he yelped joyfully, and banged his fist on the knot hole of a tree. A trap door opened, a slide leading into some massive cavern that had been built into the ground: the hollow earth under the huge tree's roots. Sophie gasped, Vera's eyes widening, Peter chuckled and Julia's head was jostled against her sister's chest. Julia murmured something unintelligible and continued sleeping.

"I'll go first," Peter repeated. "Vera, you next, so you can catch Julia. Sophie, you have to let her down gently ("As if she wouldn't," scoffed Vera), and then you go last, Sophie. Wahoo!" This last part he yelled, jumping onto the slide.

"We've got visitors, boys!" Vera faintly heard from below. She gulped, hearing several boys calling out curiously, "_Visitors?_" She steadied herself, howling "Vagabo-o-o-onds!" as she fell. "Oomph," she grunted upon landing, looking up into the faces of about half a dozen boys. "Move!" she ordered them, and move they did. They backed away while Vera spun around and crouched, calling up to Sophie: "All right! Let her down!"

Down went Julia, her head softly bumping against the gently sloping slide, but she didn't wake up. She landed into the waiting arms of her sister. "Now you, Sophie!" Vera told her. With a cry of Geronimo! Sophie was the next down the slide, the trap door falling neatly shut behind her. "Is that a hammock!" she cried. "I've always wanted a hammock." And she leaped onto the bed, asleep within seconds. Vera scooped Julia into her arms, holding her honeymoon style.

Vera quickly backed up against the wall, and in the silence that followed, everyone could hear Sophie, snoring. Until all of a sudden, Julia woke up.

"…? Vera?" she said blearily. "I'm right here, sweetheart," Vera cooed. Julia smiled blissfully, the kind of smile she hadn't done in a while. "How are you feeling?" Vera asked her. Julia grinned as Vera set her back on her feet. "_I'm fine and I am okay,"_ she sang. Suddenly aware of her audience, Julia spun around, remembering that she was still wearing her pajamas. She clutched Vera's sleeve, looking to Peter, a question on her face.

"These are the Lost Boys, lady," he said proudly. "Lost Boys, this is Julia" he pointed her out, "and her sister, Vera. The little munchkin in the hammock is their other sister, Sophie. Girls, Lost Boys. Lost Boys, girls. And I'm Peter. Can we have some fun now?"

One of the boys blushed. "Oh, that is so adorable," Julia whispered to Vera, unaware that everyone in the room could hear her. The boy blushed harder. "Hello, ma'am," he said. "I'm Tootles. And, well…I can hear you. Does this…does this happen often?" Julia smiled again. "_It wasn't the first time," _she sang. Another of the Lost Boys stepped forward, a swagger present in his step that had been absent in the others. "And _I'm _Nibs, madam," he said, his voice absolutely without any irony as he bent down to kiss Julia's hand. "Pleasure." The next boy jumped up before Nibs had returned to his place in line, chirping, "And you'll be pleased to know that I'm Slightly! You're welcome," he said, before bowing. The last teenager, a boy with curly hair, stepped up. "Hello," he whispered, "I'm Curly." The last of the Lost Boys stepped up together; two boys with some of the same features, looking bouncy and full of energy. "Hiya!" they chirped. "We're the Twins. First Twin and Second Twin. We're ten," one giggled.

_Adorable, _Julia mouthed to Vera over her shoulder, shaking the twins' hands. Vera shook her head and snorted. In the bustle of everyone greeting each other, Sophie woke up. "Whatsamatta," she asked, rubbing her eyes. She removed her hands, revealing huge bright blue eyes. All of the girls had these same crystallized big blue eyes, from their mother's side. Sophie had a slightly upturned nose, with a smattering of light freckles and soft dark hair that was neither brown nor black. Julia had the same features, but was without freckles, and her hair was a shade lighter, and longer, tumbling down her back. Vera had a broad nose, inherited from their father, but it suited her perfectly, and her hair was a very short pixie cut, framing her face.

"Whaddidimiss," Sophie said blearily. Julia coughed, the noise seeming to wake Sophie up, her wide eyes made wider with concern. Julia waved a hand at her, and straightened up, smiling at everyone. "Lost Boys, this is my sister, Sophie!" she announced brightly. Slightly had one hand outstretched, reaching out to see if she was okay, which he quickly retracted. The Twins seemed to be transfixed by this bright new creature that was of this totally foreign concept—"their age." Sophie slipped down from the hammock, stretching so that her Avatar: The Last Airbender pajamas (the ones that had a picture of Toph, Sophie's favorite, on them) showed her bellybutton. She yawned cutely.

The Twins and Sophie regarded each other curiously, the older kids watching, amused, until First Twin reached out and pinched Sophie's cheek lightly. "Hey!" Vera gasped, indignant, but she was shushed by everyone else, who was waiting eagerly for something to happen next. And something did; Sophie leaning in and using her pointer fingers to lift the corners of First Twin's mouth so that he was smiling. The older kids "d'awwwwww"ed, with expressions ranging from happiness to joy to condescension to teasing. Sophie smiled softly, Second Twin blushing from watching this display.

Abruptly, Sophie and the Twins ran off to have some adventures ("Good, now can't we do the same?" grumbled Peter), the Twins dragging Sophie behind them to show her the best places. Julia bit her lower lip in anticipation, already picturing Sophie all grown up with one or both of them at her side. Oh, to imagine the love triangles that might occur! Julia giggled, ignoring the looks she got. Remembering a song that, she felt, foretold what was to come, she opened her mouth and sang.

_The minutes pass__  
>and it's hours before I sleep,<em>_  
>'cause I'm still contemplating<em>_  
>when it's over, where we'll be.<em>

_And I can't speak  
>when I'd rather give up now<em>_  
>and make this last forever.<em>_  
>There's just got to be somehow.<em>

_When Autumn's drawing near,__  
>and my vision's got less clear,<em>_  
>will you be worth the wait?<em>_  
>That's a chance I'd like to take.<em>_  
>We're going nowhere fast,<em>_  
>but we're growing up at last.<em>_  
>Will the end be worth the scare?<em>_  
>Well, we'll see when we get there.<em>

_I can't deny__  
>these feelings anymore.<em>_  
>I'll tell you that I need you,<em>_  
>and I'll tell you I want more.<em>

_The timing sucks,__  
>just like it always has,<em>_  
>but someone tell me,<em>_  
>why's it gotta turn out bad?<em>

_When Autumn's drawing near,__  
>and my vision's got less clear,<em>_  
>will you be worth the wait?<em>_  
>That's a chance I'd like to take.<em>_  
>We're going nowhere fast,<em>_  
>but we're growing up at last.<em>_  
>Will the end be worth the scare?<em>_  
>Well, we'll see when we get there.<em>


End file.
